Mighty oaks from little acorns grow - slow weight gain support thread

[FireworksScareMossyPets]

Thread for those of us whose los are:

• Healthy
• Meeting developmental milestones
• Producing plenty of soaking wet nappies
• Producing several pooey nappies (quantity varies after first six weeks or so)
• Gaining weight...

but just much more slowly than the centile charts tell us they should.

This is a thread for help, support and understanding from other Mums who have "been there, done that".

It's where we can share links, share our stories and what if anything we have done to help our lo's weight gain - or whether we've just ditched the scales and looked at the baby.

However, we also don't want to lull other Mums into a false sense of security; if your lo is not meeting the criteria at the top then it is best to get help from a breastfeeding counsellor (or general infant feeding specialist - not all slow gaining babies are breastfed) or supportive health care professional.

Mossy xx

Hi all Callum has gain 9oz this well, without a drop of formula even touching his tube

SGK that is excellent news!!

SGK, do you think the SCBU nurse might stop pushing formula so much now?

I hope so, my HV was so excited bless her!! The SCBU nurse is coming out on monday and I am not going to tell her that we haven't given the formula, until she starts saying about the great weight gain and how the formula has worked etcetc, and then tell her that 'actually, it was my breastmilk and not the formula' just to prove that my milk is ok..

Good call! I like it! At the very end you can say, "well actually it is all my own milk!!"

That's great news SGC! Well done you!

just wanted to let you know that i had dd weighed and she's put on 5 oz. quite relieved and my mum has stopped worrying and mentioning giving her a bottle. thanks for the advice.

How is everyone doing?

Pleased to say LO went to the hospital and was discharged. She'd put on 12oz in 10 days, and a few more inbetween that weigh-in and the hospital visit 3 days later!

Am delighted to say she's packing it on now.

Thanks to everyone for your kind words and support on here. I'm not sure what made the difference, but I am very proud of myself for sticking to my guns and not taking the HVs advice. Just got to keep it up now, but hopefully we've turned a corner.

Hi there, I haven't been on for a bit as hadn't had K weighed for a bit. Had her weighed on Friday as part of her 7-9 month check up, and am sad to say she has only put on 3 ounces in 3 1/2 weeks. She is now between the 9th and the 2nd centile and they want me to go back in 2 weeks. Am totally gutted. She has been eating pretty well, and was expecting more. She is still the happiest baby on this planet, but I am really down about it.

Hope everyone is ok and doing well.

Hi gals

Good news, foxy and stephano - send some chub vibes in our direction please.

Sexmas (great name), sorry you're blue. It sucks when you get a duff weighing when you were hoping for more. Please don't let it get you down. As you said yourself, she's a happy baby. Doesn't your instinct tell you that if there was something wrong she would be letting you know about it? It's still a gain - not a loss, and she's still on the charts. Keep smiling.

As for us in the carrot household...bah. Babycarrot apparently LOST weight last week. Cue tears of despair and much gnashing of teeth on my part. Then I hatched a cunning plan... I fed her and gave her a bit of EBM and weighed her again. Astonishingly she had gained weight 15 minutes later.

I maintain that a big poo or a big feed accounts for half of the weird weighing results we see.

The games we play...

We're in this together, girls, with our tiny acorns. Cummon you halfpints!

Your posts always make me smile VLC!

Oh Sexmas! I'm sorry, please try not to get down. You sound like you feel exactly like I did. Its very disheartening isn't it?

I'm sure weight-gain does slow down about this time, if that's any consolation. I'm sure you have been told this upteen times, but you know yourself that she is fine, so try to hold on to that thought!

Fellow mums of very tiny people please help. In floods of tears today over DDs lack of weight gain.

Background: DD 8mo. Born small 5lb 4 oz and stayed small always struggling along the 0.4th centile but thanks to my very supportive HV exclusively breastfed to 6months and BLW.

When we started weaning realised she has a cows milk allergy- comes out in hives when has any dairy product so went to clinic today for 1st time in months to talk about how to manage this and got DD weighed.

She has dropped right off the charts and only weighs 12lb 8oz. I feel so crap now. She is bright and smily and seems to be developing normally. I spent a long time beating myself up over her small size in the early days but thought I was past all that and now I'm right back in the depths of despair again. It seems to be such an emotional thing feeling you can't nourish your own baby properly.

I know she doesn't eat much solids compared to others her age (she'll try anything but something like a couple of toast soldiers and half a banana is her limit) but thought she'd be OK on 5bfs a day plus often one at night too. We can't even do the cheese sauces etc due to dairy allergy.

What shall I do??
Stop BLW and try to push her to eat more solids?
Offer more breastfeeds?
Nothing and just go back to blissful ignorance?

Mamadoc, sorry to hear you're having problems.

Afaik, your milk is the most calorific thing you can give her really. So if you are worried again the best thing to do would be to offer more bf rather than stop BLW.

There are other foods aside from dairy that are calorific, if that's what you're worried about. Banana, avacado, meat is full of protein of course, starchy foods are good for energy...

I am doing BLW with a ds on 0.4th centile. I haven't been to get him weighed for six weeks. I can honestly say that stopping getting him weighed has made me worry so much less!!

I make sure I bf before each bit of solid food, so he is filling up on high calorie stuff rather than on solid food, are you already doing this?

Mamadoc,

Just had a thought. My ds is eight months and he is so distractable during the day that he only has lots of little "snack" bfs during the day, and makes up for it at night (we co sleep so it doesn't bother me that much). But sometimes if I actually take the time to go upstairs, turn the lights off and make it really boring he will have a proper long "two boob feed" for ages and wake up a little less in the night.

Is your dd quite distractable? Would you be able to lengthen her feeds by doing the same, do you think?

I'm glad someone else is BLW a tiny one. I really thought we were doing so well till today but now all confused.

She still bf really well unless we are out and about. If I don't offer she sometimes doesn't ask for the 2nd side anymore but always makes up for it at night. usually alternate bf with solids

7am bf
8am breakfast
10am bf
12pm lunch
1pm bf
4pm bf
5pm tea
7pm bf
11pm and/or 4am bf

I was taking her not asking for both breasts always as a sign she was reducing things herself but maybe that's where I'm going wrong and need to be more pro-active in offering

Mamadoc, sorry to hear you are low - I know just how you feel.

I am wondering if the advice my GP gave to me would help you too? She told me to express after every feed, so by the end of the day I have a bottle of rich hind-milk to top up with. This also increased my milk production. If she's not having the 2nd breast, you could express that and build up a freezer store.

It is a right PITA. I kept my breast-pump in the fridge with the top on (an Avent one) rather than sterilise inbetween times, and it was find and less hassle.

It worked BTW!

Oh, and I think the fact that you weren't worried before you had her weighed speaks volumes! Try to hang on to that.

Mamadoc how are things today?

...and around we go again.

Saw the infant feeding co-ordinator again today at baby cafe. Asked her to take another look at the latch in case 5 months on we have developed bad habits - she thinks we're fine.

Arranged for a referral to a paed in January to check out (again) any underlying conditions which may be causing the crap weight, such as heart problems, metabolism problems and intolerances causing malabsorption etc. No hurry, says I, 6 weeks time will be fine, haven't weighed her in a couple of weeks but sure she's OK blah blah...

and then I weigh her tonight.

She's lost weight.

Back down to 9lb from 9lb4oz 2 weeks ago.
She'll be 5 months old on Sunday.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Oh Carrot, I don't know what to say, I imagine you're feeling frustrated and a bit frightened too right now.

I don't know if it is any help but you know, doing everything that you can and you're being such a great Mum to babycarrot.

Has she been ill at all? Missing out any feeds? Are you still taking the domperidone? Do you still think it might be a supply issue?

Is there any way you can get the referral sooner? Would it help you if you could?

You know you're always welcome to pop around here next time you're in St Helens if you just want a hug and to offload.

Ta Mossy for the kind words

Still taking the domperidone (but not sure it is making a difference). She hasn't been ill or missed feeds, in fact the reason I felt brave enough to weigh her was because she seemed so well and happy, and had just had a very sucky night which made me think, hmmm growth spurt, perhaps? No such luck.

I am completely incapable of being rational about my supply. Completely.

It's either "perfectly fine" or "totally inadequate" depending on which side of bed I got out of, and whether I managed to express only half an ounce or 3oz that morning.

Last night after the disastrous weighing I fed her again, then she glugged over 3 oz of EBM, then went back on the boob again. But I couldn't face weighing her again.

I have NO IDEA why she is so skinny. I'm starting to get so sad about this. I wanted to feed her long term until she weaned herself but I don't think we can sustain this situation. I mean, a 5 month old that weighs less than some newborns I know, FGS!!!

It is going to break my heart if breastfeeding goes up the swannee after all this. I think I'm more proud of feeding her than I am of anything material I've achieved, you name it - degree, house, car - it's all just noise in comparison.

Ugh.

I think I'm going to get to the other side of Christmas and then see if I can accelerate the appointment. I'd guess if I use the magic words "weight loss" that would do the trick.

Ooosh - got a bit heavy there.

On a lighter note, just had the following conversation with my glorious Mum.

Me: "Oh Mum, some days I just feel like I don't have enough milk"

Mum: "Has the milkman not been today, then, dear?"

Me: "Mum."

Long pause.

Mum: "Oh yes."
.
"I see what you mean"

VLC - Sorry you're feeling down.

I know you feel about being proud of yourself for bf, I feel the same.

Weight fluctuates a lot during the day infact a lot full stop, I know it's very easy with your own scales to weight whenever. I would suggest sticking to a certain day and time fortnightly if you can. I know it's not easy and I don't want to tell you what to do.

How old is babycarrot now?

Hope you can get appointment soon.
Thinking of you.

Oh it's BusywithIzzy btw x

Thanks Ange

I try to weigh in the evenings, roughly fortnightly.

babycarrot is 5 months on Sunday. 9lb.

Skinny, non?

Skinny yes but also gorgeous happy and healthy